LUDLOW FC boss Chris Waldron admitted his side were happy to end their Church Stretton hoodoo ahead of this weekend’s redemption mission against league leaders AFC Bentley.

Since their 2017 reformation, Ludlow had failed to beat Stretton in several attempts but they put that jinx to rest with a 3-1 win in the West Midlands Division Two League Cup last weekend.

Kieran Dovey, Ryan Lewis and Dan Griffiths struck – with Dean Richards netting for Stretton – in a performance that delighted boss Waldron.

And he hopes the display will give his side confidence when they host runaway leaders Bentley, who inflicted a humbling 8-0 defeat on Ludlow just over a month ago.

Waldron said: “We were brilliant. We were in control the whole game really.

“We had never beaten Stretton before but we’ve always thought that when we had a full side, we can match anybody.

“This was probably the first time we’ve had a full side out against them and we got the result.

“Now, we would like to put right that previous result against Bentley. We went up there with half a team but I think we only have one player missing this Saturday so we should be more competitive.

“At the same time, Bentley are by far the best team we have played all season and some of the lads they have got are ridiculous for this level.”

Ludlow will host fellow mid-table side Newport Town in the quarter-finals of the League Cup on a date yet to be confirmed and Waldron added: “It’s a winnable game.

“We will never take anything for granted but we want to do well in both cups we are still in, so we prolong our season.”

Third-placed Stretton, meanwhile, visit Newport in the league this Saturday with boss Scott Peever hoping the cup defeat has shaken off their rustiness after almost a month without a game.

Peever said: “It was a disappointing result but we had no complaints – we never really got going, Ludlow were sharper to everything and they thoroughly deserved to win.

“We looked like a side that hadn’t played for four weeks but a lot of teams are in the same boat.

“At this level, I don’t think you prioritise anything but if we were going to lose, I’d rather it have been in the cup than the league.

“But we will have to perform better at Newport than we did at Ludlow as it wasn’t good enough."